Morbid AngelIllud Divinum Insanus

Over the years, few bands in death metal have achieved the level of consistency of Morbid Angel. Their first three records are all regularly pit against each other in furious debates about what order they appear in the top ten genre releases of all time, and it would be hard to call any of their later work anything less than fully listenable. That said, even if it hadn't taken eight years to arrive, this record would have been unacceptable. Even if the majority of the album didn't consist of mediocre KMFDM and Pitchshifter remix album outtakes, wedged between tolerable but far from groundbreaking scraps of traditional death metal, the remaining abhorrent stabs at industrial cock rock and aimless ambience would have dealt the final blow. Even if newcomers Destructhor and more-than-adept fill-in skins man Tim Yeung hadn't senselessly parachuted onto a swiftly deflating life raft, the core members responsible would still likely have released something just as pointlessly awful. Additionally, a moment of silence for anyone who will ever have the misfortune of sitting through laugh-out-loud Dope/Powerman 5000 tribute "Radikult," which could very well be the worst song I've ever heard. There is no excusing this offensive joke the band have played on their fans, abusing their right to free speech with this abomination. Illud is easily the most disappointing comeback since Reinkaos, and hopefully either a momentary hiccup in their career trajectory or the end of the band forever.
(Season of Mist)